Belleek House

Just over the border into northern Ireland is Belleek, by which I mean the town famous for its pottery, and we took a tour of the pottery factory and its wares. Belleek Pottery Ltd. is a porcelain company dating to 1884. The factory produces porcelain that is characterized by “its thinness, slightly iridescent surface and that the body is formulated with a significant proportion of frit.” The terms ceramic, porcelain and frit are highly technical! We had an excellent tour through the whole production plant. Here’s what the factory used to look like…

We are talking about high quality pottery and ceramics of all sorts here. Belleek has supplied the Queen with some things… But they were also capable of making interesting coffee cups!
Leonard was an especial favorite with the Irish, partly because his lyrics were full of the sadness and also joy that one finds in Irish life and songs. He was a poet, and the Irish love poets.

Let’s go behind the scenes for a bit….Vase making and painting is delicate work…

Here is where it’s all fired— the kiln…

The delicate work takes a very steady hand…
Even saints like St. Patrick approve this work…

Being from a region in North Carolina where they make some of the finest pottery in the world, I was very impressed with this place and its craftsmanship.